Culture Shock
by TheDcComicsNerd
Summary: When Jack is involved in a science experiment with Jack from another universe, he finds himself thrown into a whole new world that's new but also strangely familiar. The only problem is: he doesn't know how to get back to his own universe. (Crossover: Newsies musical and Newsies movie) (Hopefully) better than it sounds.
1. Chapter 1

**This was written for the Newsies Pape Selling Competition**

 **(It will be a multi-chapter story)**

 _ **Task: Your Newsies meet in a Broadway theatre**_

 _ **Newsies: Jack K./Jack K. (or Francis Sullivan)**_

 _ **Dialogue: "You don't know what you're doing, do you?"**_

 ** _Total Word Count: 9,659_**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies. However, I do own a 20th Anniversary copy of Newsies on Blu-Ray. Heh heh**

* * *

A teenage girl walked through the streets of modern-day New York, pulling a wagon behind her. Passersby stared at the wagon as it rolled along, wondering what could possibly be underneath the large sheet that was obviously covering up a giant object. The girl hummed to herself as she pulled the wagon along and after a few minutes, she arrived at her destination, a theatre used for Broadway shows as well as other events. She look up at the sign which read "New York Youth Science Fair" before walking through the door. After signing herself in, the girl walked over to a table and pulled the wagon up alongside it. She enlisted the help of a few of the other contestants and soon the object she had brought along with her was lugged onto the table. She pulled the sheet off and started messing with some of the dials, switching on the machine just as the judges arrived at her table.

"Hello, Miss Evans," one of the judges said to the girl as they approached. "What shall you be presenting, today?"

"Hello, sir. Today, I'm presenting to you my inter-dimensional transporter," the girl said.

The judge couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Inter-dimensional transporter? Well, that's highly unlikely to work but, uh...let's see it," the judge said.

"Gladly," the girl said. She entered a few things on the keypad and with a sudden burst of blinding light, two figures appeared...

* * *

Jack was sleeping soundly when Kloppman came in and started waking the boys up. He walked over to Jack's bed and started shaking him.

"Wake up, Jack! Time to sell papes! Get up!"

Jack groaned and swatted halfheartedly at Kloppman before turning over.

"Come on, Jack! You need to get up now!" Kloppman said, shaking Jack again. Jack finally sat up, mumbling incoherently as he rolled out of his bed, eyes still heavy with sleep. He started to get ready for the day, heading over to the counter with all the razors and shaving cream.

"Heya, Jack!" Crutchy said as he hobbled over to the counter and began to get ready as well.

"Mornin', Crutchy," Jack said as he started to lather shaving cream onto his face.

"Mornin', Jack! Mornin' Crutchy!" Mush called as he walked over to join the two boys at the counter.

"Mornin'," the two boys said tiredly.

"Hey, Jack. How'd ya sleep?" Mush asked with a grin.

Jack gave him a bland look before grabbing a razor.

"Y'know, it seems dat Ise is answerin' dat same question ev'ry mornin', Mush," Jack deadpanned, beginning to shave his face.

Mush just shook his head and laughed before beginning to put shaving cream on his face.

Around ten minutes later, the boys all headed out of the lodging house and started walking towards Newsies Square. They were almost to the square when a sudden flash of light made them all shout and cover their eyes. When the light disappeared, all the boys looked around. Everyone was accounted for, except for one.

"Hey, where the hell did Jack go?!" Racetrack suddenly yelled.

The other boys looked around in confusion and started chattering worriedly.

* * *

Jack yawned and stretched as he once again woke up on the roof. He looked out across the rooftops of New York at the sun that was slowly rising over the sleepy city. He let a small smile appear on his face as he sighed and stood up. He walked over to his brother, who had fallen asleep on the opposite side of the roof.

"Hey, Crutchie," Jack said, lightly shaking the younger boy's shoulder. "C'mon, it's time ta wake up."

Crutchie slowly opened his eyes and yawned, stretching out his good leg.

"Heya, Jackie," he said as he grabbed onto the railing of the roof to try and pull himself into a standing position.

"How's the leg feelin'?" Jack asked as he helped Crutchie up.

"Oh, ya know, same ol' thing," Crutchie said with a wry smile.

"That bad, huh?" Jack said more as a statement than a question as he and Crutchie made their way to the steps leading into the lodging house. Crutchie just sighed and carefully made his way down the stairs with Jack following him. When they stepped into the lodging house, Jack started making his way to the beds, waking up the boys as he went. Pretty soon he had woken everyone up and after a few swears floated around the room, most of the directed at Jack for waking the boys up, all the boys started getting ready for the day. After a little while, they were all making their way towards Newsies Square.

"Y'know, I feels like today's gonna be a good day," Jack said, smiling brightly as he slung his arms around both Crutchie and Davey's shoulders, leading the pack of newsboys towards the circulation window.

"Why?" both boys chorused as they walked.

"Dunno," Jack replied. He was about to say something else when a sudden bright light caused all the boys to stop in their tracks. The light disappeared after a few seconds and the boys all blinked as they looked at the spot where their leader was...or, rather, had been.

"Where's Jack?!" several of the boys said in unison. All the boys started looking around for their leader, talking amongst themselves as they did so.

* * *

Jack shouted as he was enveloped in a bright light. He felt like he was spinning for a few seconds before he was deposited in a strange place he had never seen before. It was full of all sorts of objects he didn't recognize and all the people there were dressed in strange clothes.

"Where am I?" he said, but jumped in surprise when he heard another voice ask the same exact question. He turned to see another boy that looked to be around his age. He was wearing clothes like his but the boy's vest and pants were a dark gray and his shirt was blue. He was wearing a newsboy cap over short dark brown hair and had the same confused look on his face as Jack.

"Who are you?" the two boys asked each other at the same time.

"Da name's Jack Kelly, but people call me Cowboy," Jack said, spitting on his hand and holding it out to the dark-haired boy who had an extremely confused look on his face.

"But...how could ya be Jack Kelly? I's Jack Kelly," the dark-haired Jack said to the blonde Jack. The blonde Jack, Cowboy, withdrew his hand and looked at the other Jack oddly. Both boys tried to wrap their heads around the situation but their thoughts were interrupted when they heard a girl's voice call out to them.

"Hi, Jack and, uh, Jack. I'll just call you Cowboy," a girl with red hair tucked back into a ponytail said, pointing to the blonde Jack. "I'm Shea. Welcome to the year: 2015."

* * *

 **A/N: So, what do you guys think so far? Please leave a review and let me know! I'm hoping this will turn out as well as I hope. I'm gonna try to shell out a few chapters this week and have it done by May 16th (the deadline for the contest). Oh and in case you can't tell, the first Newsies scene is the movie version and the second is the musical version.**

 **Reviews are encouragement!**

 **-DC**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: You guys should go check out the Newsies Pape Selling Competition!**

 **To be honest, this story is confusing me as much as it'll probably confuse you. Let's just roll with it. Oh, and in case you weren't sure, Jack is the musical Jack and Cowboy is the movie Jack. Figured it's easier saying "Cowboy did this and Jack did that" than "Jack with the blonde hair did this while Jack with the brown hair did that" or something like that.**

 **Fact: I had this partially written already but it took the same amount of time to finish this as it did for me to listen to my entire Newsies Spotify playlist with the songs from the movie and the musical. Is that sad?**

 **Ooh, guess what? Stephanie Styles liked one of the pictures on the competition's Instagram! How awesome is that?**

 **Crutchie: Thank you for your review! I'm trying to get their different little nuances in speech and their different personalities down since they really are very different. I hope I'm doing them justice!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies but I do own my ticket from when I saw it on tour in LA last month.**

 **Warning: Slight hinting at a homosexual relationship. (You really have to look for it to see it, I think) I have no problem with it but maybe some of you would...? I don't know. Also, one swear word. Maybe. I don't know. It's a swear word to me but maybe not to you so... Jack said it in the movie so it should be fine.**

* * *

Jack and Cowboy looked at each other then back at Shea with more than confused looks on their faces. After somewhat recovering from his initial shock, Jack decided to take the next question while his counterpart tried to get the gears working in his head again.

"What do ya mean by 2015? What happened ta 1899?" he asked.

"Oh, just a little science experiment of mine," Shea said nonchalantly. "Speaking of which…"

She turned to face the judges who were looking between Shea, the machine, and the two Jacks with wide eyes.

"What do you guys think? Pretty awesome, huh?" she chirped cheerfully. The judges slowly nodded and wrote on the forms attached to their clipboards before turning and walking off, expressions of complete and utter shock and disbelief written all over their faces. Shea turned around and looked over to Cowboy. The poor newsboy was looking at his hands then around the dream.

"This ain't real. Ise is dreamin'," he was saying to himself in his somewhat cartoony New York accent. Strangely enough, Jack seemed to have already come to grips with the situation although he still looked slightly confused. However, the look on his face suddenly switched from confusion to worry.

"Hey, how long is we gonna be here? Da boys can't be alone fo' too long! What if da Delanceys do somethin' ta dem? I needs ta go back!" Jack said, starting to pace back and forth.

"Relax, Jack," Shea said, waving her hand at him before heading over to the machine. "I'll have you guys back in your respective universes in a few minutes. Just let me make a few adjustments."

While Shea started tinkering with the machine, Jack took the time to take in the giant room around him. It looked like they were standing on a stage that was full of tables, odd objects, and people. He was finding it hard to believe that was what the future looked like. He shook his head. He couldn't wait to get back to his own time with Katherine and the boys.

Cowboy, on the other hand, was finally starting to take notice of the things around him instead of just staring stupidly at his hands. He liked the way the future looked although he was a fan of the clothes that everyone was wearing. Well, almost all the clothes. A couple of girls in shorts walked by him and he offered them a flirty smile. He could get used to this. Jack saw this and rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Romeo. Don't get'cha hopes up. We's gonna be back in our times soon. And besides, you's got Katherine," Jack said, smacking Cowboy's shoulder.

"'Ey, I'm just looking and- wait, who's Katrine?" Cowboy said.

"Ka _th_ rine is da name of ya goil back home! Y'know, da one who wrote up da article about da strike," Jack said matter of factly. "Don't act like youse don't know."

"Ise has no idea wat youse is talkin' bout," Cowboy said indignantly. "Goils don't write in da papes. Denton wrote da article 'bout da strike."

"Denton? So den youse is…" Jack trailed off awkwardly.

"Ise is…?" Cowboy asked before making the connection in his head. "No, I ain't!"

"Hey, it's nothin' ta be ashamed of," Jack said.

"No, Ise is serious! Ise gots a goil back 'ome, ya dumbass!" Cowboy nearly shouted. "She just ain't called Katrine."

"Okay, den what's she called?" Jack asked, laughing lightly.

"If ya _must_ know, my goil's called Sarah," Cowboy said, crossing his arms and glaring at Jack.

"Okay, so youse has a goil called Sarah," Jack said, holding his hands up in surrender. "So how'd ya meet her?"

"She's Mouth's sistah."

"Mouth? Who's- oh, wait! Mouth's Davey, huh?" Jack said. When Cowboy nodded, Jack started laughing.

"Youse - actually - calls Davey - dat?" Jack said in between laughs.

"Yeah, what's it ta ya?" Cowboy asked, trying to figure out what was so funny.

"Nothin'! It's just, sometimes we calls Davey dat but only when he's not listenin' but youse actually calls him dat!" Jack said, his laughter dying down. "One time Davey heard us call him dat and he made sure ta live up ta da name! He wouldn't let us hear da end of it!"

"Ha! Well, our Davey don't seem ta mind all dat much," Cowboy said.

"Huh, I guess we's more different dan we thought," Jack said.

"Ise guess so," Cowboy said, shrugging.

A comfortable silence fell between the two and they watched everything going on around them for a few minutes. Finally, Shea walked over to them.

"Hey, guys!" she said brightly. "Are you ready to go back home?"

"Yes!" Jack said.

"I dunno," Cowboy said, glancing over at the girls in shorts again before Jack smacked him on the shoulder once more.

"Okay, okay! Ise is ready to go back!" Cowboy said, rubbing his slightly stinging shoulder.

"Great! Let's get you guys home!" Shea said, walking over to the machine. "Alright, so just stand still. This should only take a few seconds."

The boys nodded and stood still, waiting. Shea watched the screen on the machine but suddenly looked worried.

"Oh crap! It's malfunctioning!" she exclaimed, looking at the boys apologetically before trying to fix something on the machine. It was no use, however, as the blinding white light flooded their vision and soon they were spinning again before being deposited onto solid ground.

Jack slowly opened his eyes as he felt warm sunshine on his face. He looked up to see his boys up ahead, looking for something.

"Hey, boys! Over here!" Jack called to them. The boys turned around, relief clear on their faces as they ran over to him.

"Jack, where'd ya go?"

"Wese was so worried!"

"We couldn't find youse anywhere!"

"Don't do dat again!"

Jack chuckled at the worried shouts of the boys and reassured them that he was fine.

"Hey, Jack?" Romeo called from the side of the group, confusion lacing his voice.

"Yeah, Rome?" Jack asked.

"Uh...Who's da new guy?" Romeo asked, motioning to someone who was standing by the building they were next to. Jack walked over and was greeted by the sight of a blonde newsboy with a red bandana looking around confusedly.

"What is ya doin' here, Cowboy?" Jack asked, more confused than ever.

"Ise has no idea," Cowboy said, looking at Jack then waving at the newsboys who were crowding around him.

"Uh...hi. Ise is Jack but youse can call me Cowboy," Cowboy said, looking at the boys, if he could even call them that. They looked a little too old to be newsboys.

"Hey, that's funny! His name is Jack too!" Les said, pointing at Jack.

"And Ise is guessin' dat youse is Les," Cowboy said, smiling down at the kid.

"Yup! I'm- wait, how'd you know that?" Les asked, looking at Cowboy oddly.

"Well, it just so happens dat uh, well…." Jack started.

"Wese is kinda da same person," Cowboy finished.

The boys all looked between Cowboy and Jack before Race spoke up.

"How does dat woik?" he asked.

Cowboy and Jack just shrugged before Cowboy smiled at the boys.

"Da name's Jack Kelly. Nice ta meet ya!"

The boys looked at him like they'd just seen a ghost.

* * *

 **A/N: Dialogue. Dialogue. Dialogue. Actio- nope, dialogue.**

 **That's how my stories seem to go.**

 **Necesito dormir más.**

 **Random stuff goes here, apparently.**

 **Please leave a review!**

 **Reviews are encouragement!**

 **-TheDcComicsNerd**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter is pretty bad but I really wanted to finish it so that you guys wouldn't have to wait so long for another chapter as I most likely won't have much time to write for the next week or so what with studying for finals coming up next week and all.**

 **xPoptarsx: Thank you so much for your review! I couldn't stop smiling when I read it! It's really encouraging and makes me really happy to see this story getting such a good response! Thanks again!**

 **bookworm5546 (guest): Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! I hope this chapter won't disappoint!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own them but I wish I did. (Then again, what girl doesn't want to own a bunch of dancing newsboys, am I right?)**

* * *

"So let me get this straight, you're Jack..." Race said, pointing to Jack then turning to Cowboy. "...but then, you're Jack?"

"For the hundredth time, Race, _yes_ ," Jack said with an exasperated sigh as they walked towards the square. He understood that the boys were confused about the situation, hell, he was more than confused himself, but their constant questions were starting to get on his nerves. After the boys had gotten over their initial shock, Jack and Cowboy were bombarded with questions about what happened; they would have to officially meet Cowboy and hear the story once the day was done and they were back at the lodging house. Jack had quickly gotten tired of the questions but Cowboy, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the attention. He walked up to Jack and slung an arm around his shoulder, smiling.

"'Ey, why ya lookin' so down, huh?" Cowboy asked.

"I ain't down, just thinkin'," Jack replied.

Cowboy was about to respond when a young woman running up to the group caught his eye. Her semi-curly brown hair bounced as she jogged down the sidewalk towards the group. A smile appeared on his face as the woman stopped in front of the group, breathing heavily as she recovered from her run.

"Heya, Ace!" Jack said as he lifted Cowboy's arm off of his shoulders and walked over to her. "Why's you runnin'?"

"Why _are_ ," Katherine corrected him, earning a mock glare from the boy, "and I was worried I would miss you guys but apparently you're running a bit late too."

"Yeah, uh, we had a bit of a mornin' adventure, so ta speak," Jack said, smiling at her. "Speakin' of which-"

But before Jack could introduce Katherine, Cowboy had already walked over, a flirty smile adorning his features as he did so.

"Well hello, ma'am. Da name's Jack but youse can call me Cowboy or anytin' ya'd like," he said smoothly. Jack just rolled his eyes and cuffed him on the side of the head.

"Hey, don't even think about it, mistah," Jack said, scolding the blonde who was now rubbing the side of his head with a scowl on his face. "Dis here's my Ace, Katherine."

Jack wrapped an arm around Katherine's shoulders. It was her turn to roll her eyes as she looked at Jack.

"Jack, I can introduce myself, you know," Katherine said, turning to look at Cowboy. "Hello, uh, what was it...Cowboy? I'm Katherine, nice to meet you. Try flirting with me again and next time, it might not be so nice."

"Sorry, Katrine. Nice ta meet'cha," Cowboy said, bowing his head slightly. Katherine just shook her head good naturedly and spit on her hand, sticking it out to Cowboy. Cowboy looked at her incredulously, then at Jack, then back at her, gaping like a fish out of water. Jack and Katherine both laughed as the other boys looked on in amusement.

"Well, is ya gonna shake her hand or just sit der? We's got papes ta sell, ya know," Jack said, amusement clear in his voice. Cowboy shook his head and, after a few seconds, spit on his hand and hesitantly held it out to Katherine. Katherine once again rolled her eyes before grabbing his hand and shaking it. Cowboy still looked shocked as he pulled his hand back.

"But- but-," he stuttered as he looked from his hand to Katherine. "Youse is a goil!"

"No, really? I had no idea," Katherine replied sarcastically, some of the boys snickering afterwards.

"But- goils ain't supposed ta do dat!" Cowboy said.

"Well, that goes to show you that I'm not just any girl," Katherine replied, a teasing smile on her face. She turned to Jack and squeezed his hand lightly.

"I have to get to work but I'll meet you at Jacobi's for lunch," she said.

"Alright, Ace," Jack said, smiling at her. "Be safe."

"No promises," Katherine teased, laughing lightly at the look on Jack's face. "Relax, I'll see you later."

With that, she gave Jack a quick peck on the cheek before pulling her hand away from his. She called goodbye to the boys over her shoulder and was answered with a chorus of "Goodbye, Katherine!" from the boys as she made her way down the sidewalk. After Katherine walked off, the boys walked into the square and Cowboy looked over at Jack.

"So dat's Katrine?" he asked.

"Yep, that's Katherine. You bettah not try nothin'," Jack said, mock scolding his blonde counterpart.

"Don'tcha worry, I ain't gonna try notin'," Cowboy said as the group of boys walked up to the circulation desk. Before anyone could buy their papers, however, Cowboy snatched a paper from Oscar.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Oscar shouted at the newsboy.

"Relax, uh...which one is ya?" Cowboy said, looking from Oscar to Jack.

"Oscar..." Jack said.

"Okay," Cowboy nodded before turning back to Oscar. "Relax, Oscah. Ise is just...perusin' da merchandise."

Oscar looked incredulously at the new newsboy then up at Jack.

"Who's the smart guy?" Oscar asked, motioning his head at Cowboy with an annoyed look on his face.

"He's Cowboy and he's new so ya'd best be leavin' him alone," Jack said, glaring at Oscar.

"Oh he's new, huh? Well then, Morris and I oughta introduce ourselves properly," Oscar said with a devilish grin as he called his brother over and they walked out from behind the circulation desk. They slowly walked over to Cowboy and Morris snatched the paper out of Cowboy's hands. Jack shook his head and grabbed Oscar roughly by the shoulder, turning him to face him.

"I said ta leave him alone, Oscar," Jack said, shooting daggers at him. Before things could escalate any further between the two, Cowboy cut in.

"'Ey, don't worry 'bout me. They's jus' da Delanceys, no big deal," he said with a noncomittal shrug. That statement caused Oscar to pull himself out of Jack's grasp and whip around to face Cowboy.

"No big deal, huh?" Oscar and Morris shared a look before beginning to move towards Cowboy once again. "Well how's about we make it a big deal?"

They started pushing him back towards a wall, attempting to corner him. The boys all watched nervously as the Delanceys tried to seperate their new friend from them. However, upon seeing the less-than-worried look on Cowboy's face, he actually looked amused, they didn't rush in to save him. Jack watched carefully, waiting for any signs of distress from Cowboy before he tried to jump in. Cowboy simply smirked at the Delanceys, motioning between them.

"Hey, if ya idiots thinks youse can take me, go ahead! Take your best shot," he said, ready for a fight. Oscar and Morris nodded at each other before lunging towards Cowboy from both sides of him. Cowboy quickly jumped out of the way and Morris and Oscar crashed into each other, landing in a heap on the ground. Cowboy, Jack, and the rest of the boys laughed as the Delanceys groaned and slowly stood up. They glared at Cowboy and lunged for him again. Cowboy grinned and ran straight for the wagons, Oscar and Morris hot on his trail. Cowboy jumped on top of a wagon and wore a satisfied smile when the wagon tilted downwards with his weight. He stood on one end of the wagon, his end closer to the ground, and waited as the Delancey's began to climb onto it. As soon as they were almost completely on it, he nimbly jumped off and the end of the wagon he had been standing on flipped up, successfully knocking the Delanceys off balance. Cowboy strolled back to the other boys who were currently in hysterics, watching as the Delanceys tried to disentangle themselves from one another.

"See? Not a big deal," Cowboy said, motioning back towards the Delanceys.

"I guess not," Jack chuckled the boys started buying their papers. The Delanceys glared at Cowboy as they walked behind the circulation desk once again. Cowboy snickered then offered them a sickeningly sweet smile before walking up to the circulation desk to buy his papers.

"Hey, who are ya?" Cowboy asked, looking confusedly at Wiesel.

"Mr. Wiesel. Who are you?" Wiesel countered, looking distastefully at the boy.

" _Weasel?_ Dat's you?" Cowboy asked incredulously, leaving Wiesel's question unanswered.

" _Wiesel_ and yes. Who else would I be?" Wiesel said, becoming increasingly annoyed.

"Well, I dunno. I jus' didn't recognize you is all. You ain't, y'know, big around da waist," Cowboy said, putting his money down. "One-hundred papes, Weasel."

Wiesel grumbled to himself as he slammed one-hundred papers onto the desk and took Cowboy's money.

"Bye, Mistah Weasel!" Cowboy said, lifting his papers onto his shoulder and joining Jack by one of the wagons while they waited for the rest of the boys. Jack looked up as he approached.

"You just live to torture them, don'tcha?" Jack asked with a grin.

"Yup! Don't youse do dat too?"

"Sometimes, yeah, but not as much as you."

"'Ey, Ise can't help it! It's free entertainment!"

"I guess I ain't able ta argue with that," Jack said, a light chuckle escaping his lips. Cowboy grinned and waved at the Delanceys who were still shooting daggers at him. They huffed and turned their backs on him while Cowboy laughed again.

"What a couple o' wimps!"

After the boys all finished buying their papers, they gathered around the wagon that Jack and Cowboy were at and began coming up with some good headlines. After a few minutes, Jack looked up.

"Everybody ready?" he asked as he stood up and tucked his papers under his arm. When all the boys nodded, he smiled and motioned towards the gates to the square.

"Well then let's go!"

With that, the group of boys all headed out the gates and bid farewell to each other as they walked towards their respective selling spots.

"Hey, Cowboy!" Jack called as Cowboy started walking off. "You're with me."

"Oh, c'mon!" Cowboy whined as he made his way over to Jack.

"I ain't lettin' ya wander around on your own. Who knows what kinda trouble youse could get yourself into?"

Cowboy mumbled something about being a grown man and not needing to be babysat while Jack just shook his head with a smile and led him towards his selling spot. Today was gonna be interesting.

* * *

 **A/N: So, yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed it! I kinda suck at action scenes but maybe I'll get better one day, haha!**

 **Reviews are encouragement!**

 **-DC**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi! So, uh, I've been away for a little longer than I'd originally hoped. I had my finals last week (Yay, me!) so now I'll have more time to write (hopefully). Unfortunately, this story will be coming to a close within the few days as the deadline for the Newsies Pape Selling Competition is this upcoming Saturday. I'm gonna try my best to make sure that the rest of this story doesn't seem rushed but please, forgive me if it does.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies but if I did, it would never have left LA.**

Jack stood at his normal selling spot, shouting out his "improved" headlines as people passed by him on the sidewalk. Across the street from him, Cowboy stood on a corner. He was shouting out headlines as well, tipping his hat to a man who bought a paper from him. They had been selling papers for several hours and Cowboy was starting to get bored. He looked across the street for a moment before going back to shouting out his headlines.

"Trolley accident in Brooklyn! Two dead, dozens injured!" Cowboy yelled out, two people immediately walking over and buying papers.

On his corner, Jack held up a paper and yelled, "Families sick in Harlem after water supply is poisoned!"

Several people walked over to Jack, buying papers off of him. Jack smirked at Cowboy, who wore a mischievous look on his face as he pulled another paper out of his bag.

"Numerous deaths in the Bronx! City may be to blame!" Cowboy hollered, waving the paper above his head. People flocked over to him to purchase his papers. Jack laughed at their "headline" war and held up another paper. Both boys continued shouting out "headlines", each trying to come up with a better one than the last. That is, until they heard a disgruntled shout from someone in the crowd of people trying to buy papers.

"Hey, wait a minute! That story isn't in here!" a man shouted, turning and stalking back towards Jack.

Jack looked over at Cowboy who nodded and started running the opposite direction.

"As much as Ise wanna stay, I really think I should be goin'," Jack said, tipping his newsboy cap at the crowd of people before elbowing his way out and running after Cowboy, laughing.

"Dat was a close one!" Cowboy said with a chuckle after Jack caught up with him.

"Yeah, it was!" Jack said with a boyish grin, looking behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. When he didn't see anyone behind them, he motioned to Cowboy to slow down and they stopped at a corner. Once they caught their breath, Jack looked over to Cowboy.

"I thinks it's about time ta go over ta Jacobi's for lunch," he said.

"Jacobi's?" Cowboy asked confusedly. "Youse don't go ta Tibby's?"

"Tibby's? I ain't ever heard of da place. We always go ta Jacobi's for lunch."

"Well dat's odd."

Jack shrugged and started walking in the direction of Jacobi's, Cowboy falling into step beside him. They walked in silence for a few minutes before they arrived at Jacobi's.

"We's here," Jack said, leading Cowboy inside Jacobi's. They were the first ones to arrive so they waited at a table for the other boys to come. They talked for a little while, asking each other questions about their universes. A couple minutes later, they heard the shouts of some of the boys as they made their way into Jacobi's.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" Jack called, waving the boys over. Crutchie, Mush, Albert, and Henry looked over at where Jack was waving to them and walked - or, in Crutchie's case, limped - over to the table, seating themselves on either side and immersing themselves in conversation. Pretty soon, the rest of the boys had arrived at the restaurant as well and were all chattering amongst themselves, drinking the water that Mr. Jacobi provided for them. Jack was just beginning to wonder where his girlfriend was when she suddenly burst in through the front door.

"I'm sorry I'm so late!" Katherine apologized as she hurried over to the table. "I just had to finish my article and I didn't think it would take too long but it did and I hate to keep you waiting and-"

Jack smiled and shook his head, getting up from his seat. He walked over to his babbling girlfriend, silencing her with a quick peck on the lips, this, of course, being met with hollering and catcalls from the boys. Jack just rolled his eyes and led Katherine to where he was sitting, scooting over so she could sit next to him. Katherine smiled at him before turning her gaze to the boys.

"Alright, boys, what would you like to eat?" Katherine asked the boys. Soon she was bombarded with orders from all the boys except Jack and Crutchie, who always waited until after everyone else had ordered. Katherine laughed lightly.

"You know what? I'm just going to let Mr. Jacobi take those orders for you," Katherine said, waving over Mr. Jacobi. While the boys were ordering their food, Jack leaned over to Katherine.

"Ace, I can't let you pay for da boys again. It'll cost ya too much," Jack said quietly.

"Relax, Jack. You know it's not a problem," Katherine said with a smile. "Besides, it makes me happy to see the boys so happy."

Jack just sighed and slipped an arm around her, watching the boys order their food, a light smile on his face. Katherine looked over at Cowboy who sat quietly.

"Have you ordered your lunch yet?" she asked him.

"Oh, no Miss Katrine. Ise don't want ta make ya spend money on me lunch," Cowboy said.

"Now don't be silly! I like to do this," Katherine said, smiling at the boy.

"Is ya sure? Ise know it'll be costin' youse a lot, payin' for everyone."

"Of course I'm sure! Don't worry about the cost, I can handle it."

"Thank ya Miss Katrine," Cowboy said with a grateful smile.

"You're welcome! And none of this 'Miss Katherine' business. We're friends now. Just call me Katherine."

"Okay. Thank ya Katrine," Cowboy said. Katherine nodded and told him to order his lunch, doing the same thing to Jack and Crutchie as well before ordering her own lunch. After everyone had received their food and started eating, Cowboy looked over at Katherine.

"If ya don't mind me askin', Mi- er, Katrine, how could youse afford ta do dis for everyone everyday? Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice thing ta do, it's jus' dat I knows dis costs a lot," Cowboy said with a curious look on his face.

"Well...let's just say, I have a, erm...wealthy father," Katherine said slowly. Cowboy nodded thoughtfully.

"Da only guy I can think of who would be able ta pay for dis would be ol' Joe Pulitzah, but he ain't got a daughter and even if he did, youse is too nice ta be related ta him!" Cowboy said jokingly. Katherine and Jack shared a look before turning back to Cowboy. Cowboy noticed this and looked at the couple oddly.

"I was jus' jokin'!" Cowboy said, holding his hands up in surrender, thinking they were upset with him.

"Well, actually...he kind of is my father…" Katherine said with a nervous laugh. Cowboy looked at Katherine like she was crazy.

"Youse is jokin', right? Joe ain't really your father, is he?" Cowboy asked in disbelief.

"No, he really is my father," Katherine said, watching the boy carefully. Cowboy gaped at her, his eyes practically bugging out of his head. He then looked over at Jack.

"Youse is goin' wit your boss's daughter?" he asked disbelievingly. When Jack nodded, Cowboy shook his head, a smile forming on his face.

"Youse is one brave guy, Mistah Kelly," he said, chuckling with the rest of the boys at the table. Jack just rolled his eyes, smiling and pulling Katherine closer to him while telling the boys to finish their lunch so they could go back to selling.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well, it's official. This fanfic is almost over! The way I have it planned out right now, there should be one (or possibly two) more chapter(s) after this. Not too much action or anything for the majority of this chapter but hey, this is supposed to be a fun little fic, not some over-dramatic story full of suspense and surprise twists at every turn. (Although I am hoping to write something like that one day) Anyway, I hope you guys have been enjoying CS so far!**

 **OMG, so in non-story related news: I'm super stoked because I won a Harvey Fierstein package (consisting of Playbills and pictures from various musicals and a book all signed by Harvey Fierstein!) from Jordan Roth and I'm just really really really excited! *screams like a little girl* Anyway, on to the rest of this A/N…**

 **Review Response**

 **Emador: Thank you for your awesome reviews! Unfortunately, we don't get to see what's happening in Cowboy's universe (mainly since, because we're not only traveling through universes but time as well, it is possible that everything in this story that's taken place in Jack's universe so far takes place in only a few seconds in Cowboy's universe, which *spoiler alert* is going to be the case for this story)(also, because I'm lazy and don't have enough time to deal with it at the moment). As for if he's gonna stay in Jack's universe forever or not, well, I'm probably just gonna go with the whole cliché, yay-everyone's-happy-and-all-the-problems-are-solved ending because, once again, I'm too lazy and don't have enough time to deal with it at the moment. (But you never know. I could always decide to be evil and throw some sort of twist in the end. Most likely, though, you're gonna be stuck with a cliché happy ending where everyone gets back to where they belong and whatnot.) I'm really glad you like my story! I'm happy to have you on the team as well and I can't wait to read your story for this Circulation! (I don't read anyone else's stories until after I've finished and published my own because I don't want to really like someone else's idea and then inadvertently steal it and put it in my story) :)**

* * *

It was nighttime in the city and the stars were twinkling high in the sky as five figures walked along the empty sidewalk. After lunch, Jack and Cowboy had headed back out to sell some more papers but business had been a bit slower as it got later in the day. When the sun had finally started to sink below the horizon, the boys decided to cut their losses and head back to the circulation desk so Weisel could buy back their papers. While they were there, they had run into Crutchie, Davey, and Les, who had also decided to sell back the remainder of their papers. After they sold everything back, the boys had all decided to walk back to the lodging house together as it was getting dark and they preferred to have each others' company rather than walk alone so now there they were, slowly walking along the sidewalk towards the lodging house. They were keeping up a lively conversation about who-knows-what when Jack suddenly stopped short, causing the other boys to look at him in confusion.

"Ya hear somethin', Jackie?" Crutchie asked, looking over at the older boy while the latter looked towards a dark alley with a look of concentration on his face.

"I ain't sure," Jack said distractedly, his eyes still on the alley. "I thought I heard somethin'."

The boys all looked at the alley curiously and were startled when they heard someone calling to them from the darkness.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" a feminine voice called out to them, taking them all by surprise. Cowboy screwed up his face in thought. That voice sounded familiar.

"Cowboy! Jack! Get over here!" the voice called before adding, "Oh yeah, guys, this is Shea, by the way!"

"Shea?!" Jack said, half surprised, half confused as he walked closer to the alley, Cowboy and the other boys in tow. They were greeted by the strawberry-blonde girl, stepping out of the shadows with an apologetic smile on her face.

"Hiya, guys! I, uh, I guess I should probably apologize for getting you into this mess and all," Shea said, motioning between Jack and Cowboy. Cowboy simply shook his head and grinned slightly.

"'Ey, it ain't a problem. Ise is actually enjoyin' bein' here," Cowboy said. "But, just outta curiousity, youse do knows how ta send me back ta me, uh...what's the woid...universe, right?"

"Well, yes...it's just-" Shea started, before being cut off by Jack.

"You don't know what you're doing, do you?" Jack asked. Shea looked at him indignantly before slapping him semi-lightly on the arm, inciting a giggle from Les who was quickly silenced by Davey and Crutchie.

"Of course I know what I'm doing!" Shea stated while Jack scowled at her and rubbed his arm.

"Now, as I was saying before I was very rudely interrupted…" she said, shooting a mock glare at Jack who rolled his eyes. "...The machine is a little damaged. Nothing that a little tinkering can't fix."

It was Davey's turn to speak as his ears perked up at the mention of a machine, being a sucker for new technology and information.

"What machine?" he asked, looking at Shea inquisitively. Shea motioned towards the transporter which was lying on it's side, under the cover of shadows. David looked at the machine, a look of awe on his face.

"That's what brought Cowboy here?" Davey asked Shea, still looking at the machine.

"Yep and me too," Shea said with a nod of her head. "We had a little bit of a mishap."

Davey nodded thoughtfully and walked up to get a closer look at the machine when a sudden flicker of light from a screen on it sent him reeling back.

"What the heck was that?" he said as he hurried behind Crutchie, using him as a human shield while the younger boy objected loudly and tried shaking him off, triggering a laughing fit from Les.

"Relax," Shea said with a giggle. "It's not gonna kill you. Just doing a system check, that's all."

Davey quickly stopped his flailing and cleared his throat, stepping out from behind Crutchie and standing straight with his chin up, trying to make up for his moment of childlike terror. Cowboy rolled his eyes and looked over at Shea.

"So, uh...how long until youse is able ta send me back?" he asked tentatively.

"It shouldn't be too long. Just give me...a day? Yeah, just give me a day and I should have this baby up and running," Shea said with an optimistic smile.

"Dat's great!" Cowboy said with a grin.

"Yeah! So just meet me back here around sunset tomorrow and I can send you back home!"

Cowboy smiled and turned to the other boys.

"Well, it looks like Ise'll be goin' back home after all!" he said with a smile. The other boys smiled back and Jack turned back to Shea.

"Alright, so I guess wese'll see ya tomorrow, then?" Jack asked her.

"If you guys want to come say your goodbyes and all then sure! I'll see you tomorrow!"

With a nod, Jack looked back at the boys.

"Well, now that that's settled, wese should probably be hittin' the road," Jack said, being met by a chorus of nods from the other boys. Turning back to Shea, he gave her a nod of thanks and a smile before turning and starting to walk off with the boys in tow.

"'Ey, uh, tanks, Shea," Cowboy said with a friendly smile.

"Hey, don't thank me yet," Shea replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

With a quick nod, Cowboy turned on his heel and hurried to catch up with the other boys as they all walked back to the lodging house together.

* * *

"Alright, alright, everybody settle down!" Jack called to the newsies who were running amuck in the lodging house. Once everyone quieted down and Race had recovered his cigar, which had been stolen along with Specs's glasses which were now safely on his face again, Jack motioned for Cowboy to stand up.

"'Ey, boys. So… Ise is leavin' tomorrow," Cowboy started, a chorus of shouts and cries ringing out from a handful of the boys. Once Jack had silenced them, Cowboy continued.

"Ise knows dat Ise jus' got here but wese found da goil who sent me here and she can send me back tomorrow."

"But ya can't leave!" Sniper cried out, several boys murmuring in agreement with her.

"Yeah, wese don't even know that much about youse!" Mush said, most of the boys backing him up.

"Well, since youse don't know dat much 'bout me, how's 'bout Ise tells youse a story from me universe?" Cowboy suggested, immediately being answered by the excited hollering of the boys.

"Hey, I ain't gonna warn youse again! Setlle down," Jack called above the din, the fatherlike tone in his voice causing everyone to calm themselves down.

"Hey, could youse tell us about _your_ strike?" Les piped up, once again causing the boys to shout in agreement before being silenced by a look from Jack.

"Sure, kid," Cowboy said, ruffling Les's hair. "So, Ise is pretty sure youse know how da story starts, wit da jackup on da price o' da papes an' meetin' Mouth-"

A round of snickering ensued while Davey looked a bit confused.

"-and startin' da Union an' all. So anyways, wese was sittin' out by dis statue o' Horace Greeley o somethin' and wese decided dat wese needed ta do sometin 'bout the price o' da papes so Ise started talking ta Mouth an' wese rallied up da boys…"

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so I hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter! We're almost at the end!**

 ***cue Princess Tiana singing* And I'm almost there! Oh, I'm almost there! People down here think I'm crazy, but I don't care…**

 **Anyway… I hope you don't mind how I had Cowboy trail off at the end there. I mean, we all know how the story goes so we don't really need to read it. That, and I thought it would be a cute way to end the chapter! So, yeah. There you guys go! I already have my outline done for the rest of the story so the next chapter (possibly chapters, depending on length of next chapter) should be out soon!**

 **Oh and also, if you can figure out which two lines in this story were derived from lines in songs from the movie, I'll love you forever and give you a shoutout next chapter! I'll even give you a hint - one line was derived from "Letter From the Refuge" and the other was derived from a line (which was not sung, might I add) in "Finale". Now is the time to look up those songs and figure out which lines are the right ones! *dance break***

 **Don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Reviews are encouragement!**

 **Seize the day!**

 **-DC**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here it is! The moment you've all been waiting for! The final chapter! Dun dun dun! This is actually a super long chapter that was meant to be split into two or so smaller chapters but I just didn't have time to split it up so now you have this mess of action to read through. Bwahaha!**

 **Also, I'm really excited because I *might* be going to see Motown in San Diego this Sunday! I just have to wait and see if my dad picked up a ticket for me at the box office and if not, I'll probably just order it online. Here's hoping it all works out!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies but if I did, David and Jack would have kissed at the end of the movie, not Sarah and Jack.**

* * *

Cowboy slowly woke up to the sound of Jack waking the boys the next morning. He groaned and rolled over, falling out of the spare bed with a heavy thud. Several of the boys stopped and looked over at where Cowboy lie on the floor of the lodging house. A few of them snickered as the tired boy stood up, rubbing his head and glaring at them as he did so. Jack shooed the boys off to get ready before walking over to Cowboy.

"Rough mornin'?" Jack said, trying - and failing - to hide an amused grin. Cowboy rolled his eyes and sat down on his bed again. He looked around at the madness of the lodging house, the boys running to and fro as they rushed to get ready, and watched as several of them hurried up to Jack, asking for help tying shoes, finding hats or glasses, or just to ask random questions about something they had heard somewhere.

"So is youse da mudda hen here o' sometin'?" Cowboy asked with an amused expression as yet another boy ran off after Jack tied his shoes for him.

"I guess youse could say that," Jack said with a slight nod of his head. "Ya knows how it is. Most of the boys ain't got no folks or nothin' ta look after 'em so's I makes sure that theyse knows theyse got someone ta look after 'em."

Cowboy nodded. It was different back in his own universe. Sure, he was the leader and all, but he was more of a brother to his boys whereas it seemed that Jack was almost more of a father figure to most of his boys.

"Hey," Jack said, snapping Cowboy out of his thoughts. "Do youse want ta stay here or come with ta sell papes? I mean, ya don't gotta if ya don't wanna."

"Nah, Ise'll go wit ya guys," Cowboy said, standing up and heading over to where the other boys were getting ready.

"'Kay," Jack replied, grinning and going over to where everyone was getting ready as well.

Pretty soon all the newsies were shaved, dressed, had their shoes tied (most of them by Jack), and were ready to go. They filed out of the lodging house to head to the circulation desk, Davey and Les meeting up with them along the way. They chatted amongst themselves, talking about different selling spots and the best way to sell papers, as they did every morning, until they reached the circulation desk. Cowboy walked up to the desk and paid for his one-hundred papers. He noticed the Delanceys share a look then smirk at him but thought nothing of it as he walked over to one of the wagons with his papers and began flipping through one of them. Jack and the others soon joined him and after everyone was ready, Jack sent everyone off with a shout of "Newsies, hit da streets!", the newsies scattering in the wake of his call.

Cowboy decided to tag along with Jack once more as he had enjoyed their "headline war" the day before and wanted to get to know the alternate him a little better. They walked to Jack's selling spot, Cowboy taking up the spot on the corner across the street once more. They had been standing there for a few hours, hawking their headlines to the unsuspecting customers, when Jack turned his back to Cowboy to sell a paper to an elderly woman who had stopped by him. Cowboy shook his head and went back to selling his papers but stopped short when he saw two figures making their way towards him. He squinted at the figures as they casually made their approach and a smirk made itself present on his face when he realized who the figures were.

"'Ey, boys!" Cowboy called cheekily as the Delanceys walked across the street to the corner Cowboy was standing on. "Ya didn't get enough o' a fight yesterday?"

Morris and Oscar exchanged a look before Morris stepped closer to Cowboy.

"Actually, Cowboy," Morris spat, balling up his hand into a fist. "I don't think we did. What do ya think, Oscar?"

"I don't think so either, Morris," Oscar said, stepping up beside his brother. "So, how's about we have ourselves another one?"

With that, Morris brought his fist up quickly to collide with Cowboy's jaw, knocking him backwards onto the sidewalk and sending his papers flying all over the place. Oscar kicked him hard in the side for good measure and then each of the brothers grabbed one of Cowboy's arms and began to drag him to an alley.

"Getcha hands offa me ya dumbasses!" Cowboy growled out, attempting to free his arms and get a hit in which just landed him with another blow to the head from one of the brothers. After another blow to his temple, Cowboy became limp in the Delanceys' arms and they were able to quickly drag him into the shadows of the alley where they mercilessly began pounding on him. Morris quickly grew bored and slipped on his brass knuckles to make things a little more...interesting. He chuckled evilly as he brought the brass knuckles into Cowboy's blurred view then pulled his arm back and let his fist fly into Cowboy's cheek several times, the skin splitting where he hit and a large purple bruise forming around the wound. Cowboy let out a strangled yell as Morris hit him on the cheek again and Oscar kicked him in the gut before stars swam into his vision and he felt himself drifting away…

* * *

Jack had just sold a paper to an elderly woman when he felt something nagging at him to turn around. However, when he did, he knew something was wrong. Oh, something was definitely wrong. The papers that Cowboy had been hawking just minutes before were now strewn across the ground, forgotten, and the once-occupied corner was now lacking a certain newsboy. Jack frantically ran over to Cowboy's corner and looked around for any signs of him. _He couldn't possibly have gotten into trouble so quickly, could he? Maybe he just went for a walk. Yeah, he just went for a walk, that's all!_ Suddenly a strangled yell rang out through the streets and Jack turned and started running towards where the sound had come from, a darkened alley across the street. When he reached the alley, he could make out a few figures hidden by the shadows. _Please don't be Cowboy. Please don't be Cowboy._ However, as he got closer, Jack could make out the nearly-unconscious form of Cowboy being wailed on by none other than the Delancey brothers. _Oh, god. Definitely not out for a walk._ Jack threw down his bag full of papers and stalked towards the scene, his fear long forgotten as it was replaced by rage. He reached out and grabbed Morris, who was about to land another blow on Cowboy, dragging him back by the collar.

"I thought I told youse to leave him alone," Jack said, deadly calm before raising a fist and punching Morris square in the nose then kneeing him in the gut before tossing him aside into a pile of garbage. He then stormed over to Oscar, who by now had caught sight of Jack and tried making a hasty exit, grabbing him by the shoulders and forcefully shoving him up against the wall of the alley.

"Don't youse go pickin' a fight with any o' my friends without expectin' a fight from me. Got it?"

When Oscar nodded quickly, Jack gave him a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Good," and with that, Jack slammed his fist into the side of Oscar's head and shoved him aside onto his brother. The Delanceys slowly pulled themselves up and sent Jack a nasty look before slinking out of the alley, clutching their heads. Jack quickly turned and ran over to Cowboy.

"Hey! Cowboy! Can ya hear me?" Jack nearly shouted as he knelt over the other boy, trying to get a response.

"'Ey, did wese win?" Cowboy slurred as he groggily looked up at his alternate self.

"Yeah, yeah wese won," Jack chuckled. "Hey, do youse think you can stand up and walk ta Jacobi's? Maybe find someone ta clean ya up a bit?"

"Walk? Ise'll just sleep here," Cowboy said.

"Oh no ya won't," Jack said, slipping an arm around the other boy and hoisting him to his feet. "Youse is gonna go ta Jacobi's and get cleaned up, okay?"

"...okay," Cowboy sighed as he let Jack pull him along as they slowly made their way to Jacobi's.

After what seemed like forever but was probably only about a half hour or so, Jack finally half-dragged, half-carried Cowboy into Jacobi's.

"Mistah Jacobi!" Jack called as he carted Cowboy over to an empty table near the back of the diner. "I needs your help!"

Mr. Jacobi walked over to where Jack and Cowboy were but stopped cold when he saw Cowboy's battered body.

"Good lord! What happened?"

"The Delanceys happened," Jack said as Mr. Jacobi helped him up onto the table. Mr. Jacobi shook his head and sighed.

"Those boys are nothin' but trouble," he said before turning towards the kitchen. "I'll go get you something to clean up those cuts with."

He walked out and soon returned with a bowl full of water and a rag which he handed to Jack.

"Thanks Mistah Jacobi," Jack said, taking the rag and bowl of water gratefully as he began cleaning out the cuts on Cowboy's face. Mr. Jacobi nodded and was about to walk away when Jack called him.

"Have the boys been here yet?" he asked.

"No, not yet," Mr. Jacobi replied. "But they should be here soon. It's almost lunchtime."

Jack nodded and went back to cleaning out Cowboy's cuts. By now Cowboy was on the brink of unconsciousness so he didn't put up a fight. After a few minutes, Jack had finished cleaning out Cowboy's cuts. He set down the rag and bowl and waited quietly for the other boys to arrive. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the distant shouts and yells of a pack of newsies grew closer and soon they were all clamouring inside the restaurant and heading towards their normal tables. The boys didn't notice him at first so Jack called to them.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" he said loud enough for them to hear. The boys turned their heads towards Jack and when they noticed Cowboy on the table beside him, they rushed over to him.

"Jack, what happened?" Buttons asked.

"Yeah! What happened, Jack?" several of the boys echoed.

"The Delancey's decided ta try and get back at Cowboy here for yesterday," Jack said, motioning towards the boy who was lying still on the table. "By the time I got there, theyse had already beat him up real good."

The boys began murmuring to one another, beginning to form a plan to take down the Delanceys for what they did to Cowboy.

"Hey, boys! Wese ain't gonna go startin' no fights right now. Wese gotta help Cowboy back ta the lodgin' house," Jack said, instantly quieting the boys. "I needs one of youse ta help me get Cowboy back."

The boys all looked around at each other for a moment before Davey walked out of the crowd of newsies.

"I'll help you," he said, walking over to Jack and Cowboy.

"I thought youse would," Jack said with a smile at his best friend. Davey rolled his eyes and carefully grabbed one of Cowboy's arms while Jack grabbed the other and they slowly pulled Cowboy into a standing position.

"Oh...'eya, Mouth! When did ya get here?" Cowboy slurred as Jack and Davey started walking him towards the exit of the restaurant.

"What did you call m-oh, nevermind," Davey said with a shake of his head. Jack chuckled and looked back towards the boys.

"We'll see ya back at the lodgin' house, boys!" he called. The boys all nodded and shouted their goodbyes and Davey and Jack made their way out of the restaurant and towards the lodging house with Cowboy in tow.

* * *

Jack and Davey were talking quietly with each other when Cowboy finally came to and realized that he was back in his bunk in the lodging house. He groaned as he slowly sat up, rubbing his head which was still throbbing. Jack and Davey heard this and turned around, looking over at Cowboy who was now trying to stand up. They rushed over to him and caught him as he wobbled and almost fell over.

"Hey, easy there! Youse took quite the beatin' back there!" Jack said as he and Davey helped Cowboy to sit back down on the bunk.

"Yeah, you should probably rest a bit longer," Davey said to Cowboy.

"'Ey, it ain't no big deal," Cowboy chuckled. "Jus' a few bruises, notin' I can't handle."

Jack shook his head and was about to say something else when the sound of feet running up the stairs of the lodging house caught his attention as well as Davey's and Cowboy's. The boys flooded into the room, chatting and laughing with each other. Crutchie came in behind everyone else with Les and looked towards Jack, Davey, and Cowboy.

"Hey, look who's awake!" he said with a grin as he made his way over to the bunk the three boys were sitting on.

"'Ey, Crutchie!" Cowboy said with a friendly smile.

"Heya, Cowboy! Did ya just wake up?" Crutchie asked as he took a seat by Jack.

"Pretty much," Cowboy said.

"Wow! Ya've been out for a while, then!"

"Really?" Cowboy asked. He looked towards a window of the lodging house and noticed the sun was setting. "Oh...Ise guess Ise has been," Cowboy said with a nod, then grimacing and bringing a hand up to a bruise on the side of his jaw. Suddenly, he looked up with a nervous look in his eyes.

"'Ey, Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh...ain't wese supposed ta be meetin' Shea right now?"

"Well, yeah but do youse want ta wait until tomorrow or somethin'? I mean, youse is really beat up."

"No, Ise is okay," Cowboy insisted. He stood up, wobbling slightly but staying upright.

"Okay, well then I guess wese should be goin'," Jack said as he stood up, Davey and Crutchie standing up as well. "Hey, boys! Cowboy is goin' back home. If youse wants ta see him off, ya can come with us."

Not surprisingly, all of the boys immediately jumped up and ran down the stairs, waiting by the entrance to the lodging house.

"Well, I guess they's is all comin' with," Jack chuckled and he, Cowboy, Davey, and Crutchie slowly made their way down the stairs to join the pack.

* * *

By the time the boys had reached the alley that Shea had been in the day before, it was already nightfall. The group peered into the alley and it didn't take long for them to spot Shea, sitting beside her machine and clicking something on the screen.

"Oh, hey guys!" Shea said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "Where have you been? I was starting to get worried that something had happened!"

Jack and Cowboy shared a look before Jack turned to Shea.

"Well, actually, somethin' kinda did happen," he said. Shea turned to look at the boys and immediately took notice of the bruises and cuts across Cowboy's face. She jumped to her feet quickly and took a step closer to him.

"What happened to you?" she questioned. "You look like hell!"

"Jus' a little run-in wit' da Delanceys," Cowboy said with a shrug.

"Ah, of course," Shea said with a roll of her eyes as she turned back to her machine. "Well, are you ready to go? I have everything all set up and ready to go."

"Jus' a sec," Cowboy said. Shea nodded and began to double-check the machine. Cowboy turned to all the boys standing at the opening of the alley.

"Well, uh… it was nice ta meet ya guys," Cowboy said. "Youse all are pretty different here, hell wese ain't even got some o' youse, where Ise is from, but youse are pretty great."

The boys all smiled and a few even cheered. Cowboy chuckled and shook his head, turning to Jack.

"Thanks for everytin', y'know, for lettin' me stay wit youse and sell papes in your borough an' all," Cowboy said. "Ise really appreciate it."

"Wese'll miss ya, Cowboy," Jack said with a nod and a smile. "Sorry for all the bruises ya got."

"'Ey, more to add to the collection!" Cowboy said with a laugh. He finished saying his goodbyes to Davey, Les, Crutchie, and the rest of the boys, then walked over to Shea.

"Ise is ready," he said. Shea nodded and motioned for him to stand by the machine.

"Just stay right there. This should only take minute," Shea said. "Oh, and I'm gonna be transporting you to a couple seconds after you left so you don't have to worry about too much time passing after you left."

Cowboy simply nodded and waited quietly, looking back at Jack's newsies one final time.

"Alrighty! Well, bye Jack! Thanks for helping me out with my science project and everything! And thank you too, Cowboy! Maybe we'll see each other again someday."

Jack and Cowboy both smiled at her and told her it was no problem. Shea turned once more to Cowboy.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready."

Cowboy offered a final wave and smile to Jack and his newsies, all of them smiling and waving back, before a blinding white light filled his vision and whisked him away…

* * *

"Hey, where the hell did Jack go?" Racetrack yelled. The other boys looks around in confusion at one another for a few seconds before the blinding white light flashed again. The boys all whipped around to see Cowboy standing on the sidewalk behind them, battered, bruised, and positively beaming at them.

"What happened to you?!" David exclaimed as he rushed over to his best friend's side, several other newsies following suit. Cowboy chuckled and looked at the boys, his cut cheeks burning and stinging as he smiled at them.

"It's a long story."

* * *

 **A/N: So, there it is! The end of the story! I'm a little sad but also a bit relieved as I finished this with 40 minutes to spare (before the deadline for the Newsies Pape Selling Competition, which, by the way, is looking for new people to join, if you're interested...). I'm actually thinking of a possible sequel to this story but for now, I'm just gonna relax and work on getting that Motown ticket. I hope you enjoyed this story as I had a blast writing it! Sorry that the ending's a bit rushed!**

 **Seize the day!**

 **DC**


End file.
